The ground-breaking Elite National Premier League (ENPL) has announced its first qualifying league and first qualifying conference for the 2017-18 season.

Qualifying boys’ teams in five age groups from 14-U to 19-U from the Virginia NPL and from the Boys ECNL Southeast Conference will advance to the ENPL Playoffs in June 2018. These teams will earn qualification to the postseason ENPL Playoffs based on their performances throughout the regular season in their respective competitions.

By providing qualification paths for both team-based and club-based competitions, the ENPL will feature the very best boys players in US Club Soccer. The regular season competition within each NPL and within each Boys ECNL Conference are unique and independently structured, but all teams will be focusing on the same post-season destination: the ENPL Playoffs.

The Virginia NPL includes the following clubs:

Annandale United FC

Chantilly Youth Association

FC Virginia

Great Falls SC

Tidewater Sharks

Gunston SC

Prince William

Richmond Kickers

Richmond Strikers

Vienna Youth Soccer

Virginia Rush

Virginia Soccer Association

The Boys ECNL Southeast Conference includes the following initial clubs:

Atlanta Fire (GA)

Birmingham United SA (AL)

Carolina Elite SA (SC)

Concorde Fire (GA)

Florida Elite SA (FL)

Florida Kraze Krush (FL)

GSA (GA)

Jacksonville Armada (FL)

NASA Tophat (GA)

Orlando City Youth Soccer (FL)

Tampa Bay United (FL)

Tennessee SC (TN)

Additional Boys ECNL Conferences and Boys NPLs that will qualify into the ENPL will be announced in the coming weeks. The ENPL is a collaboration between US Club Soccer and the ECNL to raise standards in youth boys’ soccer across the country.

Elite National Premier League

US Club Soccer and the Elite Clubs National League are collaborating to create a new national competition and development platform for 14-U through 18/19-U boys beginning in August 2017. The Elite National Premier League (ENPL) will provide local and national regular-season competition, national showcase events and postseason playoff competition for top teams across the country.

The ENPL will include both member Elite Clubs National League conferences (ECNL conferences) and member National Premier Leagues (NPLs), providing multiple entry paths into the competition. ENPL competition will include 14-U, 15-U, 16-U, 17-U and 19-U boys age groups, and will include participating teams from two independent qualification paths: (i) qualifying teams from designated National Premier Leagues across the country; and (ii) qualifying teams from ECNL club-based conferences across the country. These teams will come together to compete for the ENPL National Championship in a two-stage postseason event in 2018.

By providing qualification paths for both team-based and club-based competitions, the ENPL will feature the best boys players in US Club Soccer. The regular season competition within each NPL and Boys ECNL Conference are unique and independently structured; however, consistent technical and competitive standards will apply, and all teams will be focusing on the same postseason destination: the ENPL Playoffs.

The inaugural ENPL Playoffs will be held in June 2018 in two locations – East and West – where teams will be seeded based on their regular season performance. Playoff winners will advance to the ENPL National Championships in early July 2018.

No teams are guaranteed entry into the ENPL Playoffs. Whether qualifying through an NPL or an ECNL conference, all teams will earn their place into the ENPL Playoffs through a full season of regular league play.